Universal Language: Heritage
by Ashana
Summary: Hilda Byrd wants an explanation for the injuries her granddaughter sustained while guarding Freddy Fazbear's Pizza. After receiving a mysterious note, she decides a late night visit is in order to figure out just what her granddaughter and grandson are hiding from her. Of course, this wasn't exactly what she expected...(Sequel to Universal Language: Cuneiform)
1. The Note

**Universal Language: Heritage**

 **Part I: The Note**

"Thanks for the ride, Gran."

"Of course, sweetheart."

Roni gave her grandmother a bright smile as she climbed out of the Oldsmobile. "I'll be back at the normal time in the morning. If anything changes, I'll text you." She held up her new smart phone – a gift from Mr. Fazbear for protecting the restaurant from a quartet of dangerous thieves. He'd given one to Donnie (despite their Gran's protests), and then one to Gran herself. After showing her how to use the parent settings on Don's phone from her own, she'd stopped protesting so much.

"Have a good night, dear."

As per the new norm, Gran waited until she had unlocked the doors and was inside the restaurant to leave. Ever since she'd gotten out of the hospital one week ago, her grandmother had been practically _hovering_ over her with worry. It was driving Roni a bit mad, even if she appreciated the attention.

"Roni!" The guards musings were cut short as she was grabbed up by a pair of thick arms, taken into a floating hug.

"Hello, Shab." The girl's arms were pinned to her side, otherwise she would have hugged the eccentric rabbit back. He squealed and bobbed across the dining hall, much to the other animatronics amusement. The Toys were already upstairs, hanging out with their counterparts. After realizing that that Toys hadn't been shut down permanently, Fazbear had used some of the stores extra income to repair and update the parts that stored and measured their energy levels. This meant they didn't have to sleep all the time, and were able to come up every night, if they so desired. The manager had also been thinking of adding them to the show, and was negotiating to buy the empty lot next door in order to expand the building so there was room for an arcade and second stage.

Shab, Shaf (or Shadow Freddy, a rather pompous ass in Roni's opinion, but not completely intolerable), and Puppet had delighted in having the run of the upstairs, and popped up every evening as soon as the restaurant was closed. The old Fazbear gang had quickly adjusted to having the three ghosts hovering around, though Roni was still trying to get used to Shab and Mari constantly hugging her. Teddy had suggested it had something to do with thirty years or so of touch deprivation. Roni felt bad for the two ghosts, so she tolerated their constant hugs and pats. Next time Donnie visited, she was going to make sure Foxy invited the two to play pirate with them.

Speaking of Mari, where was he? Normally the puppet would have appeared for his hug by now. During the robbery last week, Roni had made a deal with him in exchange for his help. She'd promised to spend an hour with him every night down at his box. Now that the Toys were able to come upstairs every night, however, Mari had adjusted the bet to just hanging out with her upstairs for the first hour of her shift. It was ten after nine, he should have come and dragged her to her office for their hour of chatting by now...

"Roni!" Shab, surprised, dropped the girl while hovering near the ceiling. She had been so lost in her thoughts that she hadn't even noticed how high the ghost was hovering. Luckily, Freddy was standing beneath them, and easily caught her. "Hello."

The guard took a second to catch her breath, then smacked him on the shoulder. "Dammit, Freddy, don't startle Shab like that! You know he's jumpy!" She glanced up at the shadowy rabbit, who had drooped ears and a rather hang-dog look on his face. "And sensitive," she grumbled, fighting her way out of the bears arms. "It's alright, Shab. No harm done. Freddy needs to talk with me, so I'll see you later tonight, okay?"

The ghost immediately perked up, ears standing straight once more! "Okay! Later Roni-Doni-Moni-Banana!" He disappeared in a poof of purple smoke.

"Roni-Doni-Moni-Banana?"

Roni groaned and tried to ignore Freddy's smirk. "I tried to teach him the 'Name Game' song," she muttered. "You know, like, 'Freddy Freddy Bo-Beddyy Banana-Fana Fo Feddy Me My Moe Meddy, Freddy!"

"Oh, I heard kids singing that back in the...seventies, I believe."

"Remind me to introduce you to American Horror Story."

The bear chuckled as the two approached the stage. "Ah, sorry, that doesn't sound like my kind of show. Mari, Teddy, and Chichi might enjoy it, though."

"Hmm," Roni rubbed at her chin. "As soon as Fazbear gets the Wi-Fi network set up here, I'll show it to them." She hopped up to sit on the edge of the stage, forcing Blue to scoot over so she had room. He, Chichi, Chica, and Bonnie were all relaxing on the stage. Foxy and Mangle were in the cove, going through piles of old books in order to find the Toy Foxy blueprint. "So, what as so important that you had to scare Shab and nearly scrape me off the floor?"

"Oh, right." Freddy glanced at Teddy, who was frowning.

"Have you seen Mari tonight? We can't find him anywhere."

"You _lost_ him?" Roni snorted. "Seriously, how do you lose an attention-starved, overly-dramatic, nosey-as-hell ghost?"

"Apparently very easily," Blue muttered beside her, his voice heavy with sarcasm, making both Roni and Chichi snort.

"Did you check his box?"

"Of course," Teddy answered.

"Did you ask Shab and Shaf?"

"Yes, neither of them know." Freddy affirmed.

"Huh. I wouldn't worry about it. Maybe he just wanted some peace and quiet." The girl shrugged. "I mean, isn't he all powerful and stuff?"

Teddy scoffed. "He would like everyone to think that, but just because he has some super-natural mojo connected to this place doesn't mean he can't be hurt."

Blue opened his mouth to provide more sarcasm, but he was stopped by the front door of the restaurant being swung open. Roni jumped to her feet, pressing a hand against the flashlight on her belt, as two people stepped into the dining hall. Her jaw dropped.

"Gran? Donnie?" She dropped her hand and quickly crossed the room

"Hi Roni!" Donnie waved eagerly, clutching his Foxy plushie. He'd barely let it go the past week. At the sound of Donnie's voice, the curtains around Pirates Cove flew open and Foxy hopped out, wooden swords in hand, a wild grin on his face.

"Ahoy, me first matey!" He called, completely missing the startled older woman who jumped at his entrance.

"Cap'n Foxy!" Donnie thrust his plushie into his sisters hand with a hurried 'Hold this please!' before racing over to the fox animatronic. The pirate dropped the swords and caught the boy when he jumped at him, hugging him tightly and spinning around, making them both a bit dizzy.

"Haha, ye be a sight fer sore eyes, me little matey! What are ye doin' roamin' these waters at night?"

"Gran and I came to visit Roni!" Donnie pointed to his grandmother, who was standing by the door, eyes wide, looking ready to dart forward and snatch the boy from Foxy's grasp. Foxy noted the protective gleam in her eyes, gulped, and carefully put the boy back on the ground, keeping his hook well away from the boys flesh.

"A-a-ahoy, there, Lady Gran." He gave a jerky wave. Beside her grandmother, Roni face-palmed.

"Foxy you idiot," she muttered under her breath. Her grandmother noticed and turned her sharp blue eyes on the night guard.

"Roni, just what is going on here?" She demanded in a tone that would brook no nonsense.

"It's... _complicated_." Roni groaned. "But none of these guys are dangerous, _especially_ Foxy. He's basically a big puppy dog."

"Do I look like a puppy dog to ye?!"

"Yes, now hush."

Seeing her granddaughter sass the large animatronic, who was still standing awkwardly beside her grandson, settled Grans fears a bit. Before she could question her further about the apparently walking and talking animatronics, Roni's head snapped up.

"Wait a sec – I locked the doors!" Roni put her hands on her hips and squinted at her grandmother. "How did you get in? What are you and Donnie even doing here?"

Gran dug into her purse, pulling out a piece of paper and a key tied to a thin, clear string. "This is why we're here." She handed both items over. Squinted at the spidery writing, Roni read the note aloud:

 _Don't worry about a thing, yo_ _ur little bird is safe with us during the night_

 _We will protect her and her brother n_ _o matter the danger_

 _If you ever need reassurance then visit us d_ _uring your little birds shift._

"Oh good!" Mari popped up between the two women, hands clasped in front of him, "I'm glad you got my n-"

A heavy handbag, made from hand-woven reeds and full of hard candy, a large cell phone, a heavy key ring, and other odds and ends, slammed into the hovering puppets face, sending him flying backwards. Grans eyes were large and round, staring at the apparently living puppet that had just come out of nowhere. She kept her handbag at the ready, prepared for whatever the puppet would pull next.

Very un-ladylike snorting beside her made the elderly woman glance at her granddaughter. Roni had dropped the Foxy plushie and had her hands clasped over her mouth, staring at the downed puppet with wide eyes. Instead of panic or fear, they were filled with...mirth? The girl was giggling against her fingers, but seeing her grandmothers confused expression set her off. She burst into gut-wrenching laughter, closing her eyes and doubling over while clutching at her stomach.

"Hahaha...heh...You...You just smacked...hehehah...and he went...heh...and then his _face_!" Roni had tears gathering in her corner of her eyes. "You hit a home run, Gran!"

Several yards away (the woman had a strong arm, all the animatronics were sure to note), Mari sat up, clutching at his mask as the world wobbled on its axis. Normally, having someone laugh at him would have set him off – Jeremy called it his 'Bi-Polar Temper.' He was quick to go from happy to sad, understanding to mad, hot to cold. Roni was a special case, just this once, though. None of the animatronics had seen her smile much since she had shot and killed one of the robbers during her shift last week. The puppet was much too happy to see her laughing to be angry.

From the stage, the animatronics were in various stages of shock at what had just happened. Blue huffed when Roni lost her balance and ended up sitting on the floor, still laughing herself sick. "Well," he examined his plastic nails, one brow raised, "it looks like Roni has finally lost her mind."

"Fuck off, Blue!" The girl yelled as she began to get her breath back. Her giggling abruptly stopped when she felt a glare on her, and she glanced up at her grandmother, who had her arms crossed and was giving her a very disapproving look. "Er, I mean, sorry Blue." The girl saw the smug smile on the Toy bunny, and decided that he needed a pizza-pie facial one night. "Sorry Gran, I, er..."

A pair of three-fingered hands caught her under her arms and easily lifted her up. Roni had yet to figure out how the lithe puppet form with absolutely _no_ room for muscle mass (metal or otherwise) could carry so much weight so easily. Mari set her on her feet and floated a few yards back, well out of reach of her grandmothers purse. Roni snatched up the Foxy plush she had dropped.

"Forgive me, Mrs. Byrd. I did not mean to startle you before." Mari bowed before the two women. "My name is Marionette, but most call me Mari. As I said before, I'm glad you received my note."

"You wrote this?" Roni held up the note, one brow cocked. "Why in the world did you keep calling me 'little bird?'"

"Poetic whim." Mari shrugged.

"Why did you write me this letter, Mr. Marionette?" Gran asked, mirroring her granddaughters expression.

The puppet pressed a hand against his chest, attempting to appear noble. "Why, to soothe your fears, of course!" He floated a bit closer, taking up his preferred position of hovering at head-height, parallel to the floor. "I saw how worried you've been about Roni whenever you come by, so I thought that if you knew she was being looked after, you wouldn't be as concerned. It's only fair we look after her while she looks after us."

"That...well, that's actually kinda sweet of you, Mari. Did you hit your head?" Roni asked with a smirk. He gave her a flat look, then decided to ignore the sarcastic guard in favor of doting on her grandmother.

"Mrs. Byrd, I would love to give you a tour of our home and introduce you to all the animatronics here. Roni has become a valued friend and co-worker in the time that she's worked here, to all of us."

"Even ME!"

Before Gran could swing her bag again and take out the shadowed bunny, Roni was between them, pushing him back towards the stage.

"Calm down, Shab. You can say hi later, okay? Promise." She ushered him all the way to the stage. As soon as she was close enough, she locked eyes with Freddy. "Heeeeeeeeelp!" She hissed between her teeth.

The bear sighed – he'd been looking forward to a quiet night. He climbed off the stage and accompanied her back towards the doors, where Mari was trying to woo the still tense Gran, his back to them. Freddy grabbed the puppet around his skinny neck and threw him over his shoulder. The puppet squawked and tumbled through the air, stopping himself before he could hit the ceiling. He brushed himself off and glowered at the bear, looking more like an incensed cat than a powerful puppet.

Freddy swept off his hat and bowed deeply before the older lady. "Mrs. Byrd, we are all very pleased to be able to make your acquaintance. My name is Freddy Fazbear, and welcome to my home." He carefully settled his hat back on his head, then offered the lady his arm. "Please, allow me to introduce you to everyone. After all, we consider Roni a member of our odd little family, and that means you're an honorary member as well."

Roni had to admit that Freddy was excellent at reading people (when he wasn't being tricked into thinking they were endoskeletons breaking the rules). He knew just how to address her grandmother, who valued family above all else, with manners coming in a close second. After a moments hesitation, Gran slipped her arm through the larger animatronics and was escorted to the stage. All the animatronics had gotten off the stage and were standing in front of it in an attempt to appear less intimidating. Mari, still looking rather irritated at being tossed, hovered at the end of the line beside Shab, trying to keep the hyperactive bunny from racing around and scaring the woman. Foxy and Mangle joined them, Foxy carrying Donnie on his shoulder. Roni locked the front door again, then hurried to the stage. She handed Donnie his plush, then plopped down on the edge of the stage beside Mangle, who had curled up her gangly limbs to appear less broken. The fox smiled at Roni, then plopped her head on the night guards lap. Obligingly, she began to stroke the vixens head.

Freddy led Gran to stand in front of the group and swept his arm across, encompassing them all in the gesture. "Mrs. Byrd, I am pleased to introduce you to my family, the Fazbears." He began pointing to them one-by-one, going down the line. They had lined up in two groups – the Toys and the Originals. "This is Toy Freddy, or Teddy as we call him. He and his Toy animatronics performed in the eighties, but now they're retired."

Teddy took off his hat and bowed before the woman. "It's a pleasure to meet you, ma'am. This is Toy Bonnie, or Blue-"

"Pleasure, sugar." The bunny beamed at the woman.

"-Toy Chica, though she prefers Chichi-"

"Hi!" The chicken waved eagerly. "This is my cupcake friend, Charles!" On the plate in her hand, her pink cupcake blinked.

"-and Vixen, though she is also known as Mangle."

"H-h-hello," the vixen lifted her head from Roni's lap long enough to greet the women, then immediately went back to being coddled by the night guard. Gran raised a brow at that, but didn't say anything.

Freddy continued down the line, "And these are my band mates. You've met Foxy-"

"Ahoy, ma'am!" Foxy waved with his hook, keeping his hand on Donnie's legs to stop the boy from falling off his shoulder.

"-Chica-"

"Hi Mrs. Byrd!" Chica held up her own cupcake. "This is Cakey!" Much like Charles, he just blinked.

"-and Bonnie."

"It's nice to meet you, Mrs. Byrd." The bunny smiled brightly, ear-tips wiggling.

Freddy gently tugged the lady on his arm a bit farther down the line, until they were in front of Mari and Shab. "You've already met Mari," he gestured to the pouting puppet. "This is Shadow Bonnie, but he likes to be called Shab."

Shab finally wiggled past Mari and jumped off the stage. He bowed low before Mrs. Byrd, his ears sweeping the floor. "Hi Miss Old Lady!" He straightened up and beamed at her, his teeth an unsettling shade of white in his dark face. "It's good to meet you ma'am. Roni-Donnie-Ding-Dong have talked about you a lot!"

A second shadow emerged from the darkened back of the stage with a frustrated sigh and strode forward. He jumped off the stage and grabbed Shab around the neck, putting him in a headlock and stopping his hyperactive rambling.

"Do pardon my brother," the bear-shaped shadow asked, his voice having a heavy British lilt to it, "He does not have a firm grasp of basic manners." He shoved Shab back towards the stage, where Mari obligingly grabbed him and hauled him back to his side. The bear gave a regal bow, sweeping off his hat much like Freddy had earlier. "It is an honor to meet you, Mrs. Byrd. You have a pair of very amazing grandchildren. Young Roni's strength is especially astounding."

"This is Shadow Freddy, or Shaf," Freddy explained to the puzzled woman. "He and Shab are brothers."

"Ah," Gran nodded. "Well, it's a pleasure to meet you all."

"Really?" Blue was immediately smacked on the back of his head by both Teddy and Chichi. "What?" He protested. "I'm just surprised she's taking this so well!"

Roni snorted, gaining the groups attention. "Oh please, Blue. My granny survived Germany in World War II. It'll take more than a dozen sentient robots at a kids pizza place to scare her."

"Really?" Mari looked at the old woman with new found respect. "I tip my hat to you, ma'am." His shadows swirled around his head, creating a top hat, and he tilted it to her.

"Granny, why is Mari taking off his hat for you?" Donnie asked innocently.

Before the conversation could go far off topic and enter into a rather dark and unpleasant subject matter, the puppet interrupted. "Donnie, did I hear your tummy rumble earlier?" He asked innocently.

Donnie poked his stomach. "Yeah?"

"Well, I know Miss Chica just rolled out some dough in the kitchen. Why don't you and Roni go make a pizza for your granny?"

The boys eyes lit up, and he wiggled until a laughing Foxy set him down. "Yeah! C'mon Ron! Let's go make a pepperoni and olive and pepper and chicken and sausage and onion and sardine pizza!" He seized his sisters hand, dragging her off the stage.

"But-"

"Oh don't fret, Roni, love! We'll take good care of your grandmother while you bake!" The puppet waved her off, his shadows giving the two humans a subtle push towards the kitchen.

Gran made a shooing motion with her free hand. "Go ahead, Roni. I'll be just fine here with your friends."

"Well, okay..." Reluctantly, the guard allowed herself to be dragged away to the kitchen. As soon as they were through the doors, Mari was back to hovering. He disappeared in a flash, then reappeared with Mr. Fazbear's large, comfy office chair in tow.

"Please, Mrs. Byrd, do have a seat," he offered it to the woman, who gladly accepted and sat, settling her purse in her lap. "It should take those two at least an hour to get a pizza finished," he gave Mrs. Byrd a knowing look, "so if there's anything you would like to ask us about without Roni interrupting or sending us threatening looks, now would be the time."

Freddy and Teddy gave him a disapproving look, but Blue looked impressed at the plan.

Mrs. Byrd made herself comfortable and shooed the hovering Freddy over to his friends. "You'll tell me the truth of whatever I ask?" She clarified.

"Of course," Mari nodded, "One hundred percent."

"Alright," Gran fixed her stern gaze on the puppet, "What happened last week, when those thugs broke in? Tell me _everything_."

* * *

 **AN: I have been waiting to write that bit about Gran smacking around Marionette for weeks! :D Well, more like days. You know what it's like when you get a perfect idea in your head!**

 **Note about Donnie: In the US Education system, WWI and WWII, since they almost exclusively took place on foreign soil, aren't taught until middle and high school. That's why he doesn't understand the impact of his grandmothers childhood in Germany. Have I mentioned I'm studying to be a history teacher? ;)**

 **REVIEWS are LOVED, APPRECIATED, and READ OVER AND OVER for INSPIRATION and MOTIVATION.**

 **Thanks so much for reading! I hope you enjoyed.**


	2. The Fallout

**Universal Language: Heritage**

 **Part II: The Fallout**

Donnie pouted from his spot on the island counter, watching as Roni pulled a pepperoni pizza from the oven. She had nixed the other toppings he'd wanted, explaining that Granny wouldn't have liked all the spicy flavors and that the pizza would fall apart beneath the weight of them all. She'd also made sure he understood that the day she ruined a pizza with anchovies was the day she stopped caring about pizza, and he knew that his sister loved pizza more than _any_ other food on Earth. So he sat and pouted as she pulled out a simple pepperoni pizza with extra cheese. She slid it onto a serving pan and, with practiced ease, cut it into eighths.

"Can you get a few of the paper plates from that cabinet?" Roni pointed to one of the bottom cabinets by the door. The still-pouting boy slid off the island and obligingly pulled out a pile of paper plates, each adorned with the visage of one of the Fazbear Band. He sorted through them, pulling out one of Bonnie, Freddy, and Chica.

"There's no Foxy!" He cried after a few minutes of shuffling through all the plates.

"Foxy doesn't perform in the show anymore, remember?" Roni picked up the serving plate. "None of the other kids know about him, so they wouldn't know who was on their plate if they had Foxy."

"Oh, right." Donnie sadly pushed the stacks of plates back into the cabinet and grabbed the three he'd picked out. He followed Roni into the dining hall, then ran straight into her when she came to a sudden stop. He peered past her in confusion, and immediately wanted to run back into the kitchen.

Their grandmother looked downright ferocious.

* * *

Twenty minutes earlier, Mari had finished his re-telling of the nights events. He'd given Mrs. Byrd the unvarnished truth, accounting for each injury Roni had sustained, as well as how she'd reacted and handled every event that night. He'd also reported on Donnie, explaining how the boy spent nearly the entire time in the back room, safely looked after by the old animatronics.

Gran had stayed silent throughout the explanation, simply taking in the vastly different version of events than what her granddaughter had told her. Now, as Mari fell silent, she took stock of the anxious animatronics sitting before her. Most of them – especially Freddy, she noted – looked worried about how she would react to the real version of events. The only one who didn't appear to be concerned was Shab. He was lying on his back, making his shadow-things turn into butterflies and birds for his amusement. Shaf was sitting beside him, shaking his head at his little brothers antics.

"Thank you for looking after my grandchildren," Gran told the animatronics after a moment. They all immediately relaxed, shoulders drooping in relief.

Freddy fiddled with his bow tie for a moment before finally gathering the strength to ask the elderly lady what they were all worried about. "You will allow Roni to continue working here, won't you?"

"Well of course," Gran gave him a reassuring smile. "She is an adult – though it seems she often forgets that fact – and it is obvious that she is safe and looked after here. Besides," the woman's eyes turned hard as flint and her gaze swept over each and every one of them, "If anything were to happen to her here, I would make sure to dismantle you all."

Many of the animatronics looked unsettled at that declaration, but Mari perked up at her words.

"I wouldn't expect anything less of such a caring grandmother!" He wrapped one stretchy arm around her shoulder. "You are truly a one-of-a-kind woman, Mrs. Byrd!"

"Oh, please, call me Hilda." Gran tolerated the puppets hug.

"Foxy doesn't perform in the show anymore, remember?" The doors to the kitchen swung open, and Roni emerged, carrying a pizza. "None of the other kids know about him, so they wouldn't know who was on their plate if they had Foxy."

"Oh, right." Donnie followed right behind her.

Gran shrugged off the puppets embrace and stood, glaring at her grandchildren with her hands on her hips. Roni noticed her expression first and came to a dead stop, Donnie running right into her legs. Both paled several shades.

"We're in trouble, aren't we?" Donnie whispered to his sister, who merely nodded in response.

"Well?" Gran motioned the two into the room, pointing to the nearest table. Roni obligingly put the pizza down, though she didn't take a seat. Donnie set out the three plates, giving his grandmother the Freddy one, his sister the Chica one, and keeping Bonnie for himself. Like his sister, he stayed standing, trepidation crawling up his spine.

"They told you everything, didn't they?" Roni guessed, motioning to the animatronics – Chica and Bonnie looked guilty, but the rest were very much amused. Gran gave a short nod. The girl considered her options for a moment, before deciding to bite the bullet (figuratively, of course). "Sooooo, how much trouble am I in?"

Sharp nails pinched her ear, and Gran yanked her head down so they were face to face. "Don't you _ever_ put yourself in danger like that again!" The elderly woman yelled, shaking her finger in her granddaughters face. "You stupid, _stupid_ girl! You could have been killed! How many times did those men hold a gun to your head? Not only that, how many times did you throw yourself right into those thugs sight? What, did you think it wouldn't matter if you died?"

While his Gran read Roni the riot act, Donnie slipped over to the stage, and an obliging Foxy pulled the boy onto his lap. "Don't worry," he whispered to the animatronics, who were watching the dressing-down with concern, "Gran always yells like that when she's worried. Roni does lots of stupid stuff sometimes."

"No, Gran, I didn-"

"You hush up and listen, missy! I did not teach you chess so you could throw out any notion of strategy and _wing it_ in a dangerous situation! What if Donnie had seen you killed? Did you think about how it would have effected him? I am so, _so_ disappointed in you! You worry too much about others, and not enough about yourself."

Blue snorted. "That's what I told her," he muttered to Teddy, who was watching the lecture with no small amount of amusement.

After a few more minutes of making sure her granddaughter understood just _why_ she had acted stupidly that night, Gran released her ear. Roni rubbed at the sore spot, straightening. She was only a few inches taller than her grandma, but the older woman liked them to be face-to-face when she was scolding. To her surprise, she was immediately pulled into a tight hug. Gran pressed the younger girls head into the crook of her neck, holding her as close as she could.

"You're just like your mother, stubborn to a fault." The woman groused. "Don't you _ever_ scare me like that again. I can't lose you, too."

Roni hugged the woman back. "Don't worry, Gran, I'll be careful. I've got a lot of good friends looking after me now, after all."

They parted, and Gran quickly dabbed at her eyes. "Yes, you do. Now, lets have some pizza and I can get to know these new friends of yours."

The three humans served themselves some pizza while the animatronics took seats at the long table, gathering around to listen and talk with the older woman. It didn't take long for Blue to turn the meal into a whole new disaster.

"So, Mrs. Hilda," the bunny leaned forward with a large smirk, "What embarrassing stories do you have about Roni when she was little?"

* * *

By eleven o'clock, Donnie was yawning his head off and Gran declared it time for them to go. She bid the animatronics goodnight, and promised Foxy that she would allow Donnie to visit overnight again. She thanked Mari for the note, Freddy for the short tour of the building, and Chica for the pizza (even if her grand-kids had put it together). After many goodbyes and a reassurance from Roni that she would be home on time, Gran and Donnie drove off into the night. Roni shut the door, made sure it was locked, and rounded on the assembled animatronics.

"Mari," she gave the puppet a sweet smile, "Would you care to tell me _what the hell you were THINKING?_ "

"Moi?" The floating puppet splayed a hand over his chest, looking surprised at being addressed. "Why, I merely thought that your grandmother should not be left in the dark. She is quite a delightful lady." Mari's innocent expression became a thick smirk. "I must say, I can't believe you cried every time you came here as a child..."

"Shut up!" Roni snarled, her face flushing crimson. A snicker had her turning her ire on Blue. "And YOU! Seriously? Why did you have to ask that?" She demanded.

"Oh do calm down, honey," Blue gave a careless wave of his hand. "This was the only chance we'd have to hear about you as a child. We are, after all, _children's_ entertainers."

"Yes, but you aren't supposed to be entertained _at the expense of the children!_ "

"But you're not a child anymore, so the point is moot, isn't it, deary?"

Wisely, the other animatronics took a large step away from the blue bunny, who had his nose turned up in the air as he argued his case. Sneering, Roni seized her weapons of choice for dealing with the pompous Toy: the ketchup and mustard bottles off the nearest table. Popping open the lids, she pointed them at Blue with a rather scary smile.

"You wouldn't _dare!_ "

"Oh, I _dare!"_

With a screech, Blue fled the dining hall, Roni close behind, wielding her weapons of fake-fur destruction.

"Do you ever think we'll have a normal night again?" Freddy asked as they watched their night guard pursue the bunny down the east hall. Mari bobbed beside him, sitting cross-legged and upside down.

"Oh, I do hope not."

* * *

 **AN:** **Like I mentioned at the end of Cuneiform, this was just a short little story to flesh out Roni's family. And I really, _really_ wanted to write Mari getting smacked by Gran.**

 **I hope y'all enjoyed this little interlude. Next up, Roni meets a fan favorite while helping Mike out on his job...**


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